Kind of a lot of tamarind paste
September 25, 2014 10:51 AM   Subscribe

I accidentally ordered 3 pounds of tamarind paste, thinking it was prepared tamarind chutney/sauce.

This is not heartbreaking or an emergency, it's in 8oz sealed containers, but each of those will make me months of sauce and it seems like I should take advantage of this opportunity to expand my repertoire. I suspect that I often have things with tamarind components (like agua fresca, or pad thai, and I always like some in my curries), but it's not really ever been in my cooking life except as dressing.

Please share with me your favorite tamarind-containing recipes.
posted by Lyn Never to Food & Drink (23 answers total) 27 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: I just came across this Georgian chicken in pomegranate and tamarind sauce on the new NYTimes Cooking site and it looks and sounds delicious.
posted by General Malaise at 10:53 AM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: Tamarind Whiskey Sour, because why not!
posted by msamye at 11:03 AM on September 25, 2014 [2 favorites]


Best answer: I was going to suggest the Tamarind Whiskey Sour, which is in regular rotation in our house.
posted by crush-onastick at 11:05 AM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: Thai Three-Flavor Sauce.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 11:06 AM on September 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Sinigang na baboy. Sinigang is a Filipino soup made with a vegetables, meat (or not!) and tamarind. It's known for being a hangover cure. I usually use a Knorr packet of flavoring, but this recipe uses the tamarind paste. The last time I made this soup with actual tamarind paste, it took a lot of paste to get the flavor right (which is a hearty, salty, sour taste).
posted by thefang at 11:08 AM on September 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Best answer: It makes excellent home made BBQ sauce when combined with fish sauce and brown sugar and optionally chilli. The best thing to do with the homemade BBQ sauce is this crunchy/soft/meaty/sweet/salty/tart belly pork rice recipe.
posted by emilyw at 11:10 AM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: BBQ sauce! With pork, or sweet potatoes, or even tofu.
posted by epanalepsis at 11:14 AM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: Just wanted to second the rec for that Thai Three-Flavor Sauce. It's amazing , and makes everything it touches delicious. You could make a huge batch, freeze some of it, give away some more to friends.
posted by neroli at 11:16 AM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: There's a homestyle Bengali dish called ghugni with chickpeas, tamarind, and cilantro. Here's a recipe.
posted by chickenmagazine at 11:17 AM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: Madhur Jaffrey's Prawn (Shrimp) Curry looks good. Her recipes always work out for me.
posted by w0mbat at 11:24 AM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: Pollo al tamarindo
posted by XMLicious at 11:31 AM on September 25, 2014




Best answer: Jamaican kids eat tamarind balls, which is tamarinds mashed with sugar.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:47 PM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: If you have a dehydrator, attempting to make mangorind could be a fun project.
posted by snaw at 1:03 PM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: I drink a lot of agua de tamarindo.
posted by ITheCosmos at 1:14 PM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: Make ice cream! Or at the very least, some kind of frozen popsicle concoction, like freezing the agua de tamarindo that ITheCosmos linked. Tamarind ice cream is so so so delicious. But then again, I *love* tamarind. Enjoy the deliciousness!
posted by lunastellasol at 2:18 PM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: It's good for putting an unidentifiable tang in all sorts of unexpected places where you want a little sourness without a specific flavor (e.g. lemon or vinegar). I've used it in things like barbecue sauces and even a little dollop to brighten up a pumpkin pie.
posted by bink at 2:44 PM on September 25, 2014 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Pad Thai!

People think it's peanut butter or some shit like that, but it's not, authentic Pad Thai is made with Tamarind.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:46 PM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: This recipe for tamarind pie is in my recipes to try file. I'm pretty sure I originally got the link from AskMe.
posted by snorkmaiden at 7:52 PM on September 25, 2014


Best answer: This recipe (which I originally found in the cookbook "Far East Cafe", but which someone has helpfully saved me the trouble of retyping) makes a really excellent satay and peanut/curry dipping sauce.

The recipe suggests using pork for the meat, though I usually make the satay with chicken instead (pork is good, too, though) but it's the peanut sauce that (a) uses the tamarind, and (b) is wicked good. Unlike the peanut sauce you generally get in North American Thai restaurants this one has some zing to it and can be adjusted to taste.
posted by Nerd of the North at 1:10 AM on September 26, 2014


Best answer: You can flavour potato and pea samosa filling with it to good effect.

Most Indian recipes calling for amchoor (also spelled amchur, and other ways) powder (which is mango) can have tamarind substituted for the amchoor.
posted by kmennie at 4:59 AM on September 26, 2014


Response by poster: Thank you all so much! These are going to expand my culinary horizons and reduce my tamarind supply nicely!
posted by Lyn Never at 8:24 AM on September 26, 2014


It would probably also make good stocking stuffers!
posted by orangek8 at 1:43 PM on September 26, 2014


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